


Saved By The Captain

by ddh1973



Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV), The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-04-22
Updated: 2016-05-26
Packaged: 2018-06-03 19:42:18
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,138
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6623695
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ddh1973/pseuds/ddh1973
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Steve Rogers was rescued in 1999 instead and he is asked to find a missing Grant Ward by his Grandmother, an old friend of Peggy Carter's.  How does Grant's life change with a different type of mentor?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. A Damaged Boy

_**Wyoming- Fall 1999** _

Captain Steve Rogers sat in front of his tent, stoking the fire in front of him. He glanced around the woods in a remote part of Wyoming, the chill of the coming rain and the wind blowing through the trees, hoping who he was looking for had been brought here.

He had been found six months earlier by Shield and after he was thawed out, made the effort to restart his life as the year 2000 slowly approached.

The thought of Peggy, now in her seventies, and retiring from Shield, along with old friends that had passed away haunted him and made him want to hide away from this new world he had awoken to.

He was only here in these damp and chilly wood to help one of Peggy’s friends find her grandson.

Francesca Ward had come to Peggy and talked about her son, Senator Travis Ward, his wife Millicent and their four children, especially about Grant. He had run away from boarding school in an attempt to get back at his older brother, Christian for abusing their younger brother, Tommy.

He had disappeared from a juvenile detention center the day before and Peggy had approached him about finding Grant and bringing him back to his grandmother.

The teenager had been seen the day before with a mysterious man in a town about fifty miles from here and after talking to residents of the area, something had told him to come to these woods and see what he could find.

The sound of a dog barking made Steve look around and gaze at the chocolate brown dog approaching him and lying down by the fire. Before Steve could lean next to the dog and let him sniff his hand, the sound of a teenage boy calling out stopped him.

“Buddy, come here boy.”

A dark haired boy approached him with a hunting rifle in his hand, deliberately aiming it at Steve’s chest.

Steve knew that he could easily disarm the boy he highly suspected was Grant before a shot was fired. First he wanted to try to talk him down before that happened.

“Your grandmother sent me to find you, Grant. She wants you with her.”

“Bullshit, my family is having me charged with trying to murder Christian!”

“Your grandmother got them to sign custody of you over to her. A friend of mine helped her to convince your parents into dropping the charges,” Steve pleaded with the boy, really hoping that he wouldn’t have to subdue him.

“Who are you?”

“I’m Steve Rogers.”

Grant’s jaw dropped in shock which gave Steve the opportunity to pull the rifle out of the boy’s hands. He stared the boy down, who sat down beside his dog that had been warily watching the conversation between his master and Steve.

Steve watched Grant seeking the warmth of the fire and wondered why he had been left here.

“Do you want to tell me why the man you were with left you here?”

“He told me that it would make me strong enough so no one would ever mess with me again. He said he was a Shield agent,” Grant blurted out before closing off again.

He knew that he had revealed too much to a man that could make things very difficult for Garrett.

“Grant, did you know that I was bullied before I took the serum that changed me?”

“Yes sir.”

“Being isolated out in the woods isn’t the way to become stronger. Your grandmother wants you with her and Tommy. Your parents had to give up custody of the both of you or be exposed for what they did to you and your older siblings.”

“How did Gramsy find proof?”

Steve just smiled at the boy before giving the preset signal and the quinjet that had been cloaked appeared and the back hatch opened.

Before either Steve or Grant could move, a five foot six woman in her seventies with striking green eyes rushed out and over to the latter, who quickly got up and started to sob.

“Gramsy, I want to go home,” Grant said tearfully.

“Come on, my sweet boy,” she said, walking her grandson towards the quinjet, Buddy following behind them as an older Peggy Carter came down to stand beside Steve.

“Now we need to find out who brought him out here. The man knew enough to keep his face hidden from street cameras,” Peggy commented, wrapping a wrinkled hand around his bicep.

“The question is how did Grant end up on camera.”

“He might have been having regrets at leaving juvie and did it on purpose. He might have been hoping that his family actually gave a damn.”

“Well now he knows that at least his grandmother does,” Peggy quietly murmured.

Steve gently led her into the jet and to her seat before taking the one beside her. He watched as Grant Ward fell asleep with his head on his grandmother’s lap and Buddy lying at their feet.

* * *

A few days later, Peggy and Steve walked up the classic farmhouse of Francesca Ward, wanting to check on Grant. They took in the farm in southern Virginia as the mixed sounds of various farm animals carried over to where they stood on the porch.

“A child could have a happy life here, Steve,” Peggy said.

“Not if we don’t find out who put Grant out in those woods by himself with nothing but a rifle and a dog. He needs to be found before anything happens to Grant again and this time we might not find him.”

Before they could knock on the door, the sound of Buddy barking and both the dog and Grant walking around the side of the house caught their attention. He smiled at the sight of Steve standing there and rushed over and up the porch steps, a rare smile on his face.

“I think you have made an impression him,” Peggy commented softly as she smiled at the hero worship in the teenage boy’s eyes when he saw Steve.

Buddy reached Steve first and eagerly jumped onto his legs, begging for attention. He bent down and started to pet the dog. He looked up at Grant, who continued to watch him in absolute awe.

“How are you doing, Grant?”

The smile on Grant’s face quickly fell at Steve’s question and Steve and Peggy could tell he was fighting tears.

“My mother showed up last night. She tried to take Tommy and Gramsy had her arrested for attempted kidnapping after showing them the custody agreement,” the boy quietly said, moisture starting in his eyes. “She called me a worthless piece of shit that deserved to be in jail.”

Steve had to fight not to clench his fist in anger in front of the boy. He placed a gentle hand on Grant’s shoulder, noticing that the boy flinched.

“How about you show me around the farm and we let Buddy run a bit while Peggy talks to your grandmother?”

Peggy watched as Steve walked with Grant down into the yard and towards the barns, knowing that Steve had grown attached to the teenager. She hoped that his friendship would be enough for a boy that had been damaged from the moment he was born.


	2. A True Mentor

Steve watched as Grant and Buddy ran and played down by the pond that was located at the back of a log cabin a couple of miles away from the main farm house. It was surrounded by trees and seemed to be a place of serenity and peace.

“You know that your mom is wrong and you aren’t worthless. Is this how you have been treated by her?”

“My mother got her kicks by tormenting me, Christian and my older sister, Louise. Tommy was the only one she left alone. Christian thinks that he isn’t our full brother and that his father is one of the many men that she screwed over the years,” Grant said bitterly. “Gramsy is taking me to see a therapist tomorrow, which is the only way I can stay with her and not go back to juvie.”

“That might be the best thing for you, Grant.”

“Will you still come and see me, Captain?”

“Of course, son; you also have to talk to Shield and tell them who left you in those woods. They need to do something about this so he doesn’t try to do the same thing to someone else. If you want, I will be in there with you when you talk to them.”

Grant stared out at the pond for a few moments before turning to Steve, fear growing in his caramel colored eyes.

“What if he comes after me and my family?”

“I will protect you, son. I promise,” Steve said.

* * *

The next day, Grant sat down at the desk of Dr. Andrew Garner, who had been called in by the courts to be his therapist. He nervously looked around the room, his hands shaking.

“Grant, you are safe here,” Andrew said gently.

Grant didn’t say anything, he just nervously glanced around the room before quietly started to speak.

“Nobody from Shield knows that I am here?”

“The only ones that know about you being here are Captain Rogers, Peggy Carter and your grandmother. Even Director Fury doesn’t know who your therapist is, at least until we find the person who abandoned you,” Andrew gently said. “We can talk about anything you want to.”

“He told me that he would make me strong and that nobody would ever mess with me again. That first night, I wanted to run away but there wasn’t anywhere left to go where I wouldn’t end up being arrested. He left me with nothing but Buddy.”

“So this man left you out in the middle of the woods without even food or shelter?”

“Yes sir.”

“I have looked at weather reports for that part of Wyoming in the days you were out there. It got down to almost freezing on most nights. You could have died out there.”

“Captain Rogers saved my life,” Grant stated.

“Yes he did.” “I thought the man who took me would be more of a father to me than my own has ever been. For my dad it was all about appearances and his political career.”

“Did he ever hurt you the way your mother did?”

“No, he just ignored us, except Louise. She was his favorite.”

“Do you think that was why your mother tormented her?”

“Yes but after Dad found out about it, she stopped. The only people in my family that I felt loved me were Louise and Gramsy.”

“Have you talked to your sister since you were found?”

“Yes, she is coming to Gram’s this weekend and told me that mother would never touch me again.”

“How are you getting along with Tommy?”

Grant looked down at his lap but not before Andrew saw shame fill his brown eyes.

“He’s scared of me because I wasn’t strong enough to fight back when Christian would want me to hurt him. He needs help just as much as I do, Dr. Garner.”

“I will talk to your grandmother about taking him on as a patient,” Andrew said, feeling his heart sink at how much damage this family had done to each other.

They continued to talk for the rest of the hour in an emotional session that had even Andrew to the point of tears.

* * *

Later that night, Francesca Ward walked into her youngest grandson’s room to find his bed empty. Fear filled her as she rushed out of the room and searched every room but the one room she didn’t expect to find him in.

Tears filled the older woman’s eyes at the sight of Tommy curled up beside his older brother, who was sleeping and Buddy lying at their feet. She walked over and gently rubbed the dog on his head before kissing both boys on the forehead and covering them up.

Her conversation with Dr. Garner had been difficult but she had agreed that Tommy needed to talk to someone about everything that had happened. He would be going the day after Grant did every week.

She walked out the room and into her bedroom, sobbing as if her heart was broken and wishing her husband was here to help her fix the damage her son and that witch he married had done to their grandchildren.

* * *

Steve Rogers sat across from Nicolas Fury, watching as the other man paced the room.

“Captain, are you sure it was a Shield agent that put that boy in the woods like that?”

“Agent Fury, the only way we could get Grant to agree to therapy was that nobody from Shield knew which doctor he was seeing.”

“Senator Ward and his wife are putting up quite a fuss wanting Grant put back in jail. He could make things very difficult for his mother to keep the boy.”

“The Senator and his wife are going to have bigger problems than trying to put his son back in jail,” Steve said with a very out of character smirk on his face.

* * *

A statuesque brunette walked through her family home and walked into her father’s study without knocking, smirking at the looks of shock on her parents and younger brother’s face.

“Samantha Louise Ward, you know that you are supposed to knock before coming into this room,” her father, a tall man in his late forties with dark hair and the same impressive cheekbones that he gave to his three older children.

“Right now Daddy I couldn’t care less about the rules of this house because if you and that she bitch don’t stop trying to put Grant back in juvie, I am going to go to the press with this,” Louise said, holding up a computer disk.

“Who do you think you are to talk to me that way?”

Millicent Ward looked ready to attack Louise until she saw the deadly look come into the younger woman’s eyes.

“Well you sure as hell aren’t my mother.”

“How did you find out?”

Travis Ward sounded weary of the whole thing as he took in the combative stances of his oldest child and his wife.

“I found my mother last year and have been in contact with her ever since but that is not why I am here,” she said while smirking viciously at her stepmother. “Guess what I found out, Daddy?”

“What?”

“The man that took Grant out of juvie was paid five million dollars to take him.”

Travis felt rage fill him as he turned to the one person that could have done this.

“You sold our son!”

Both Christian, who had been watching everything, and Louise quickly left the room and gleefully listened through the door as their father told off their mother/stepmother.

“The one thing he hates worse than bad publicity is somebody taking his money. She is toast,” Christian commented.

“Yep and I plan on telling Grant when I visit Gram’s this weekend. Hopefully that will make him tell them which Shield agent kidnapped him.”

Shame came over Christian Ward’s face as he thought about his younger brothers.

“He won’t ever forgive me, will he?”

“Do you blame him, Christian? You set out to make his life a living hell because you were jealous of Tommy and the attention your mother gives him. That woman isn’t worth it, Chris. She is a miserable person that takes out her pain on everybody else.”

“Maybe I need to go and talk to someone about all of this.”

“That might not be a bad idea. I know it helped me a lot in dealing with everything that woman did to me.”

* * *

The next weekend, Grant sat on his grandmother’s couch visibly shaking with rage as he took in what his sister had just told him about what his mother had done. That she had sold him to John Garrett.

\He knew that he was scaring Dr. Garner and Steve Rogers with his silence and the visible signs of how angry he was.

“I want to talk to Peggy and tell her about the asshole that took me from juvie,” the boy snapped out angrily.

“Grant Douglas Ward, watch your language!”

Francesca understood his anger but the profanity wasn’t going to be allowed in her house. 

Grant didn’t say a word; he just stood up and walked out the front door, letting it slam behind him.

“I’ll go and talk to him,” Steve said as he started to follow him out of the house.

He stopped short at the sight of a sobbing Grant Ward sitting on the front porch, Buddy sitting at his feet.

“What did I ever do to make my mother hate me so much?"

“Grant, none of this is your fault,” Steve gently said as he sat down beside the sobbing teenager.

“If I tell you who did this, will you make sure he doesn’t hurt me or my family,” Grant quietly whispered.

“Yes.” Grant whispered who it was in Steve’s ear and the older man clinched his fists in anger before hugging the boy to him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Steve is becoming to Grant the friend and mentor he should have had. I am trying to decide if I will post the next chapter that has a considerable time jump or do another chapter or more of building the backstory before the time jump.


	3. Fate

**Two Months Later- Christmas Eve 1999**

Grant stood beside Thomas as both brothers watched Gramsy greet her guests as they each walked into the main living room of her home.

The pine Christmas tree twinkled with bright colored lights and a mix of antique ornaments that had been in the Ward family for a long time and ones made by Grant, Thomas, Lou and even Christian from when they were younger.

Steve Rogers smiled at Grant before turning to talk to Peggy and Nicholas Fury.  It was Peggy’s first time coming to see any of her friends and acquaintances since the death of her husband a month earlier.

Grant returned the smile before the sight of a dark haired little girl standing with her parents as they talked to Gramsy made him lose focus for a few seconds. Her thick hair hung down long on her back with it pulled back by white bows that matched the design on the red and white knee length dress she wore.

“Grant, Thomas, come over here please. I want you to meet Dr. Johnson and his family.”

Grant followed his little brother over to where Gramsy was standing with a dark haired man in his thirties and his wife, an Asian woman that appeared to be around the same age as her husband. She was very beautiful and proof that their daughter would break hearts in a few years.

“This is Dr. Cal Johnson, his wife Jiaying and their little girl, Daisy,” Gramsy introduced her grandsons to the family. “Cal, this is Grant and Thomas.”

“Nice to meet the both of you,” Cal jovially said before placing a gentle hand on the little girls shoulder. “This is my daughter, Daisy.”

“Nice to meet you,” Daisy said, her eyes moving around the room and growing wide at the sight of Steve Rogers. “Is that Captain America?”

“Yes it is, sweetie,” Gramsy said before turning to look at her oldest grandson.

“Why don’t you introduce Daisy to Captain Rogers and then keep an eye on her and Thomas?”

“Yes ma’am,” Grant said before turning to lead Daisy over to where Steve was now talking to Louise and her date for the evening, Tony Stark.

He felt a hand slip into his and looked down to see Daisy holding it and looking scared.

“Daisy, Cap is one of the nicest people you will ever meet. He won’t hurt you.”

“I know but my daddy loves him and talks about him, what if he doesn’t like me?”

“It will be okay. I’ll stay with you.”

Grant turned to lead the two younger children with him towards Steve just in time to miss the absolute innocent adoration in Daisy’s eyes and Thomas rolling his.

“Captain Rogers, there is someone here who wants to meet you,” Grant said, stopping beside Steve, whom Grant was almost as tall as him already.

He then stopped short at his sister standing with the known playboy and womanizer and wondered what his sister was up to at least until he saw how pissed off his father was, who was watching his oldest child from across the room.

“Trying to see how quick you can piss off dad,” Grant inquired as he leaned over to hug his sister.

“You got it,” Louise smirked wickedly.

“Grant, you said you would introduce me to Captain America,” Daisy said.

“Captain Rogers, this is Daisy Johnson and she wanted to meet you,” Grant said, watching as Tony Stark rolled his eyes at the praise for the Captain.

It was only his sister nodding her head in warning that stopped him from calling him out on it. \

“It is very nice to meet you, Daisy. How old are you?”

“I am eleven. My Daddy is a huge fan of you and talks about how amazing you are all of the time.”

“How about you take me and introduce me to your Daddy?”

Daisy eagerly took the hand Steve offered her and led him over to Cal with Thomas going over to talk to his friend Tracy Davenport.

Her family was old friends of the Wards and she had come down there with them for the party.

“I’m going to get a drink at the bar, Lou. Do you need anything?”

“A Rum and coke, bring Grant just a coke, I need to talk to my brother for a few minutes.”

“Of course,” Tony commented before walking away.

“Grant, you are walking a thin line with the juvenile courts and starting a fight with Tony Stark will only get you put back in juvie and standing trial. He’s an arrogant ass but for right now he is useful in pissing off Daddy, so cool it,” Louise whispered harshly in his ears. “Oh and that little girl has a crush on you.”

Grant rolled his eyes before walking away, taking the bottle of coke out of Tony’s hand as he went past him.

* * *

Travis Ward walked into the huge kitchen to see his mother talking to the housekeeper, Ms. Jennings. They were preparing a tray of lobster rolls before Ms. Jennings picked it up and took it out into the living room.

“Did you know about Louise dating Tony Stark?”

“Travis, Howard Stark was my first cousin so we are related to him but even if Lulu is dating him, they are so far removed it doesn’t count. Besides she is only doing that to piss you off. You shouldn’t have kept her away from her mother.”

Travis winced at how harsh his mother sounded and regretted pissing her off. He was striking out with just about every member of his family lately.

Christian was focusing on his political career and fixing the damage Milly’s trial had done while Grant spent most of his time with Captain Rogers.

Thomas wasn’t his child and the delay in telling him was only going to hurt the boy when he found out but he still loved him as if he was. Now that his mother was spending twenty years in prison and his biological father was dead, the boy needed a home and his mother had bluntly told him that she wasn’t giving up her Thomas, no matter who his biological father was.

* * *

Steve walked out on the front porch to see Grant shivering in the cold December weather as party guests came and went around him.

“How do you deal with Stark’s attitude towards you?”

“I let him have his shots at me and then move on. According to Peggy, Howard wasn’t father of the year material.”

“That might be why Tony Stark agreed to help Lou piss off our father,” Grant commented with grin.

Steve shook his head in amusement before sliding the coat he had on over the teenager’s arms.

“Let’s go back inside, you catch a cold out here and your grandmother will skin you.”

Grant followed Steve back into the house as Dr. Johnson and his family was leaving.

“Bye Grant,” Daisy said as she followed her parents outside.

“Bye Daisy,” Grant replied before going into the house, shivering as the heat stared to warm his chilled body.

“You made an impression on her today,” Steve stated.

“Cap, I’m almost seventeen years old and she is eleven, not happening.”

“Time has a way of changing things.”

Grant rolled his eyes as he returned Steve’s coat to him before going to talk to his grandmother and following Tommy upstairs so they could get ready for bed.

“He’s not your son, Captain Rogers,” Travis Ward said nastily.

“As of right now, he is more my son than he is yours and who’s fault is that?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Steve is starting to be a bit of a snarky smart ass in this story. Might do another chapter or two of backstory before jumping into the events of The Avengers. Might explain how Daisy remained with her parents instead of being taken from them by Shield.

**Author's Note:**

> Skye will be coming up here soon as the action moves forward into the events of the Avengers. Have about two more chapters written for this and working on the third one.


End file.
